Lohri 2023: When is Lohri? Know Tithi, Muhurat And Significance

Lohri 2023: Is Lohri on January 13 or 14? All you need to know about date, puja timings and why is it celebrated

Lohri is one of the biggest festivals in Punjab and also in several states of Northern India. Lohri celebrates the hope in the hearts of the people who are looking forward to a new year of possibilities. Lohri represents the element of fire. This is the element that represents energy itself. It is an age-old tradition of marking the onset of the harvest season with the celebrations of the Lohri festival. It is the time when people pay their gratitude and thanks to Lord Sun for its gracious blessings in helping them to have a good harvest.

The night of Lohri is believed to be the longest night of the year, post which the days begin to turn longer, and the nights become shorter. As the sun moves towards the North, it is called Uttarayan which takes place after a prolonged autumn or winter which was the Dakshinayan. As the sun makes its transition from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer, people celebrate Lohri as a festival of the Sun God and Fire. According to the Hindu calendar, Lohri marks the end of winter on the last day of ‘Poush’ and the beginning of ‘Magha’ which is exactly when the sun changes its course and according to the Gregorian calendar it falls on January 13th of every calendar year

When is Lohri 2023?

According to Drik Panchang,

Date: Lohri is on 14th January 2023
Time: Lohri Sankranti Moment on 14th January 2023 at 20.57

Significance

The festival of Lohri has many renowned legends associated with it and the legend of Dulla Bhatti is considered the most significant of them. He lived during the rule of the famous King Akbar. He was better identified as a Muslim Robber yet a very good person. Dulha Bhatti distributed the stolen wealth among the poor people. He tried to rescue Hindu girls and arranged marriages of the girls with Hindu boys. Lohri is celebrated with great fervor by worshipping fire and the sun

Celebrations

The main attraction of Lohri is the lighting of the huge sacred bonfire, considered as highly divine and holy ritual denoting the presence and blessings of Lord Agni, and people gather and sing and dance around it. People worship and offer prayers and also throw sacred food (peanuts, jaggery, popcorn, sesame seeds, Rewaris, etc.) into the fire as they dance around it.

The festivity carries on with alluring bhangra dance, People dance to the beats of the drum or Dhol, and sing devotional songs which makes the entire celebrations captivating and joyous. In Punjab, Haryana and other Northern states, People wear traditional dresses and dances to the beat of dohl.

In fact, the January sugarcane harvest is also celebrated in the Lohri festival. Sugarcane products like gurh and gachak are the main food items in Lohri celebrations. It is traditional to have Gajak, Sarson da saag with Makki di roti, groundnuts, radish, and Jaggery during this auspicious ocassion.

(With Inputs from Mr. Pankaj Khanna, Chairman, Khanna Gems)